Aussie fighters in Syria could be radicalised, Abbott says

Aussie fighters in Syria could be radicalised, Abbott says

THE risk of Australians fighting in Syria returning home with radicalised views is enough of a threat that Prime Minister Tony Abbott believes western nations must be more vigilant against terrorists.

Mr Abbott was in Canada to meet Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has fought a carbon tax much like the fight Mr Abbott is having to dismantle its domestic equivalent.

Mr Abbott said following his talks with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and François Hollande in France, he felt Australians fighting in Syria could escalate "an ongoing Islamist terror threat" as they come home, potentially as "militarised radicals".

"I don't say that there is any simple solution to this problem, but the vigilance that's been maintained since 2001 needs to be increased in these circumstances," he said.

"It is certainly no time to be reducing the emphasis on good intelligence which has been a very important part of Australia's response to the terror threat ever since then."

Between 23 and 205 Australians are currently thought to have entered the fray of Syria's bloody civil war.